The Cherry Avenue Bridge (North Avenue railroad bridge, or Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, Bridge No. Z-2) is an asymmetric bob-tail

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, that carries the Chicago Terminal Railroad, pedestrians, and cyclists across the North Branch Canal of the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...

. Constructed in 1901–02 by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, it is a rare example of this type of bridge. It also played a key role in the development of Goose Island on

's Near North Side. The bridge was designated a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...

on December 12, 2007.

Location

Cherry Avenue bridge is located at ; it runs in a north-south orientation, spanning the North Branch Canal of the Chicago River to provide railroad access to Goose Island, an industrial area in the Near North Side community area of Chicago. The railroad track across the bridge is a spur line of the Chicago Terminal Railroad, that branches off from the route of the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

mainline about north-west of the bridge. The railroad continues for about south on Goose Island. North Avenue (

Illinois Route 64 Illinois Route 64 (IL 64, Illinois 64) is an east–west state highway in Northern Illinois. Its western terminus is at the Iowa state line, connecting with U.S. Route 52 in Illinois, U.S. Route 52 (US 52) and Iowa Highway 64 via th ...

) runs east-west at the north end of the bridge, crossing the

North Avenue Bridge The North Avenue Bridge can refer to one of three bridges that has carried North Avenue (Chicago), North Avenue (Illinois Route 64) over the North Branch of the Chicago River on the north side of Chicago, Illinois. A center-pier swing bridge bui ...

over the north branch of the Chicago River about to the west.

History

Goose Island is a man-made island on the north branch of the Chicago River that was formed in the 1850s by the digging of the North Branch Canal. In 1871 the Chicago and Pacific Railroad started construction of a railroad from Goose Island through

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

Byron, Illinois Byron is a city in Ogle County, Illinois, United States, probably best known as the location of the Byron Nuclear Generating Station, one of the last nuclear power plants commissioned in the United States. Byron is located in Byron Township, ...

. This company was absorbed into the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway in 1880. The Cherry Avenue bridge was constructed in 1901–02 by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul to replace a 20-year-old bridge on the same location. It spans the North Branch Canal of the Chicago River providing the only railroad access to Goose Island. Cherry Avenue Bridge HAER ILL-143-7

Railroad operation on Goose Island was taken over by the

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is one of the primary United States railroad subsidiaries for the CPKC Railway , one of six U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Saul ...

in 1986, and then by the Chicago Terminal Railroad in January 2007. The bridge was purchased by the City of Chicago in 2008, and restored in 2008–09 adding new decking and lights to enable safe pedestrian access.

Structure

The bridge is one of two bob-tail swing bridges constructed by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway on the North Branch of the Chicago River.The other is bridge No. Z-6, downstream of the Cortland Street Drawbridge, see The bridge runs north-south, the pivot pier is on the shore on the north side of the channel with a long, high

Pratt truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

arm that spans the channel, and a arm that carries the counter-weight above the tracks. The bridge is no longer operable, but when constructed it was able to swing to the east, to an angle of 82.5˚ when parallel to the dock wall. The bridge was designed to carry a single railroad track, but also may originally have been intended for use by other vehicular traffic on Cherry Avenue. A sidewalk is cantilevered from the east side of the bridge.

References

External links

* {{Chicago Landmark transportation Bridges completed in 1902 Bridges in Chicago Chicago Landmarks Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Historic American Engineering Record in Chicago Metal bridges in the United States Pratt truss bridges in the United States Railroad bridges in Illinois Swing bridges in the United States

Location

History

Structure

See also

References

External links